Is it any wonder that ‘Washington feels as broken as it did four years ago’?

posted at 8:01 pm on July 15, 2012 by Howard Portnoy

Ask any Republican, and he will tell you that Washington is just as bitterly divided along partisan lines as it was when Barack Obama was swept into office on a giddy wave of hope and change. Or ask the president himself.

Washington feels as broken as it did four years ago. And you know, if you ask me what is the one thing that has frustrated me most over the last four years, it is not the hard work. It is not, you know, the enormity [sic] of the decisions. It is not the pace. It is that I haven’t been able to change the atmosphere here in Washington to reflect the decency … and common sense of ordinary people—Democrats, Republicans and independents who I think just want to see their leadership solve problems. And, you know, there is enough blame to go around for that.

When Rose asked Obama if he was on the list of those deserving some of the shared blame, he responded: “I think there is no doubt that I underestimated the degree to which in this town politics trumps problem solving.” Short answer: No.

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Nope Friday. I want a VP announcement as a gift. That and a conservative single guy ;) I think I have a better shot getting the announcement than the guy LOL!

gophergirl on July 16, 2012 at 12:08 AM

Single, conservative guy seeks witty conservative gal. No criminal record himself, but can deal with the woman’s occasional minor infractions with the law. No walks on the beach, unless semi-drunk, otherwise let the sand fly. ;-)

Since he became the de facto GOP presidential nominee, Mitt Romney’s fundraising has soared on the strength of exponentially larger checks than he was collecting as a mere contender for the nomination, a report filed Sunday with the Federal Election Commission indicates.

The report shows that Romney Victory – a joint fundraising committee created by his campaign, the Republican National Committee and several state parties – raised $140 million between its formation in early April and the end of last month.

That dwarfs the combined $83 million raised by Romney’s campaign committee and the RNC in that time.

All you Henny Penny’s need to stop running around worrying about Mitt Romney’s campaign. Every one of us saw what he did to Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum when the game was on the line. And he didn’t have anywhere near as much money then as he does now.

Relax. Enjoy the summer. Have a brat and a beer and a ballgame or two. We’ll let you know when Tampa starts.

Do Romney’s people read these blogs and the comments? They should but who knows.

Here’s the deal. I don’t understand why they don’t turn the Bain thing on Obama’s head. It’s a monstrous opening he’s given them, to talk about the President and make the point which I think is at the base of this election, which has not changed since 2008.

Barack Obama is not that smart (bright, maybe, but more indoctrinated than educated), not about economics, history or basic math. But, more to the point, he’s never run a hot dog stand. Are we surprised that he knows squat little about running a government?

Okay, here’s the Romney talking point, if they’re listening.

All this hoopla about what Mitt Romney was doing in 1999, 2000 and 2001, which office was he in, basic silliness.

Two points. Uh, since 1999 is so darned important, what exactly was Barack Obama doing in 1999? [Hint, that's not the real question, only a set-up.]

Whatever he was doing… leads to the point.

Does Barack Obama really believe that it’s possible to manage an equity investment firm the size and complexity of Bain Capital and run the Olympic Games at the same time? He might since he obviously doesn’t understand what real work in the private sector is. But, anyone walking around would know that, after I [Mitt] left to run [rescue] the Olympic Games, I [Mitt] really didn’t have a lot of time to worry myself about what was going on back at Bain. That’s why there are no notes of my being there or having much to do with anything related to the company (though Bain was a fine company then and still is).

There are mountains of memos of meetings, calls and any number of other activities related to the Olympic Games if Mr. Obama would like copies of those. But, really, anybody with half a brain would know better.

Which is why this is all foolishness. And no more than an attempted DISTRACTION to cover up the President’s bumbling handling of just about everything he’s tried to do.

Helloooo out there, Mitt. Do you not get that Obama asking this question at all opens him wide up to the fact that he simply doesn’t know what he’s talking about when it comes to anything related to private enterprise (or, I would suggest, hard work).

And it’s gonna stay that way until the Democrats come around and the RINOs get kicked to the back of the line.

That’s the thing about winning battles — you have to fight. Over the opponent’s strenuous objections is how you win. Otherwise, you’re just cooperating in your own mugging.

J.E. Dyer on July 16, 2012 at 12:34 AM

The RINOs won’t be kicked to the back of the line until people stop voting for them every election. The lesser evil argument only ensures that both parties keep running liberals, it doesn’t fix anything. At some point people have to stop voting for the GOP-by-default, otherwise we will just keep repeating Bush/Dole/Bush/McCain/Romney forever.

..wadda mom! Mine is a raging lib in Marin County, bless her heart. She went on this anti-war march a couple of years ago with all these other Marin County wimmen who thought it was cool to strip down to their altogether.

Some things cannot be erased from one’s mind. It’s principally why i traffic in Lismore’s and fog cutters.

All you Henny Penny’s need to stop running around worrying about Mitt Romney’s campaign. Every one of us saw what he did to Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum when the game was on the line. And he didn’t have anywhere near as much money then as he does now.

Relax. Enjoy the summer. Have a brat and a beer and a ballgame or two. We’ll let you know when Tampa starts.

JohnGalt23 on July 16, 2012 at 12:42 AM

So if the polls shift against him, we should expect Romney to do more speeches about his love affair with Rust-Belt trees?

Or are you saying that Romney will outspend Obama 20:1 in states Romney should be winning by 10 points easily?

Or are you saying that Romney will outspend Obama 20:1 in states Romney should be winning by 10 points easily?

Buckshot Bill on July 16, 2012 at 12:51 AM

Exactly what states should Mitt Romney be winning by 10 points that he isn’t already?

The man is going to bury 0 in negative ads in September-October, and all indications are he will have the money necessary to do it… which, in case you’ve forgotten, has always been one of the rationales for nominating Mitt Romney.

Or are you simply unable to get over a case of butt-hurt from the primaries? The man won, fair and square, and in the end it wasn’t particularly close. Get over it.

LOL! Thanks War Planner. Stationed at Pearl where she met the old man.

Bmore on July 16, 2012 at 12:53 AM

..wow! That’s straight outta one of those old John Wayne war movies, innit? Incredibly romantic in a man’s man sorta style. I get this picture of the Rock and Patricia Neal in the Navy BOQ at Pearl — you know like In Harm’s Way?

Obama has outspent Romney 4-1 on attack ads in swing states, has resorted to making fallacious statements maligning and defaming Romney as a felon… and its only JULY….and all of this has resulted in ROMNEY AND OBAMA BEING TIED</em. He hasn't moved the needle one iota.

Did I mention that this constitutes Obama having 'shot his wad'… and its ONLY JULY? That's pure desperation on his part. He knows he's losing.

He can't run on his record. His attack ads are having ZERO effect. His base is disillusioned and comatose. The economy is NOT going to dramatically improve before the election. He's now blaming everything on a 'broken Washington'… after 4 years of his administration. He'll be blaming the American people next. He's on the verge of hysterics.

Romney simply has to be an adult… firm, responsible, reasonable, to win this election.

No none taken. Mom had a wild streak for sure. Did you ever see the comment I left on your blog? If you did when you have a chance sometime follow to where it goes and you can see Pearl Girls. Funny stuff those girls. ; )

If you did when you have a chance sometime follow to where it goes and you can see Pearl Girls. Funny stuff those girls. ; )

Bmore on July 16, 2012 at 1:08 AM

..I think I remember the comment. I don;t do nearly as much work on my blog as I lurk here on HA. (Can’t exist without folks like you and Mark and Flora and the crew.) If you can leave another comment (pathetic way for me to get another hit) or send me a PM at thewarplanner (at) gmail, I’d love to see the links, etc.

No, he’ll just outspend Obama 20 to 1 in those states. And he’ll bury Obama in negative ads in AZ, NV, CO, NH, WI, MI, OH, PA, and NH. ‘Cause Obama won’t be raising any money this year, you see. Romney can fix all of his electoral problems by just spending his way out of trouble, like every other liberal does.

Not IA, VA, or FL. In fact, IA is one we usually lose. And Romney is leading the polls in NC. So your assertion that Romney should be leading those states by 10 points at this point, when he hasn’t even competed in them yet, is so ridiculous as to be worthy of additional helpings of ridicule, on top of what a normally ridiculous assertion deserves.

and there’s a story that palin has not yet been invited….mitt is going to lose this by 10 if palin is dissed

the truth is that the left has 240 ev’s sown up..wired for the leftist…happy with their checks. okay?

barry knows this…all he needs is a couple of states OH, VA and it is another 4 years with the socialists dancing in the streets.

i don’t know anything about tactics..but mitt is playing a thin game, the left controls a huge chuck of the country. See…here’s what has changed….kerry and other leftists have tried to hide their leftism. Barry let’s it all hang out.

ows, warren and barry, joined at the hip…and they control a huge chuck of the ev’s

and, yes, barry does not know anything about business..but neither do 60 percent of the voters…nice fit, huh?

Not IA, VA, or FL. In fact, IA is one we usually lose. And Romney is leading the polls in NC. So your assertion that Romney should be leading those states by 10 points at this point, when he hasn’t even competed in them yet, is so ridiculous as to be worthy of additional helpings of ridicule, on top of what a normally ridiculous assertion deserves.

JohnGalt23 on July 16, 2012 at 1:16 AM

He’s somewhere between -1 and +2 in NC, right now. That’s dead even. In any case, Jindal wouldn’t be even in the polls right now, neither would Palin, or Perry. Because they have records they could point to as Governor, accomplishments they could talk about, whereas Romney only has Bain and he seems afraid to really defend that openly.

Romney can’t run on his record as Governor, for obvious reasons. His current state in the polls is more due to Obama’s inept attacks than anything Romney’s campaign has done so far.

If Obama starts seriously attacking Romney’s own history as Governor, likely imitating Bush’s anti-Kerry ads, Romney is going to be in serious trouble. His record of flip-flopping on every issue is always damaging to a candidate, when it is exposed during a campaign. So far Obama hasn’t really attacked Romney on this front. Probably saving it for later when more people are paying attention. But what more can Romney say negative about Obama that people aren’t already aware of? He has to make the case for himself, and that is difficult when he has so little to run on.

Jindal wouldn’t be even in the polls right now, neither would Palin, or Perry.

Buckshot Bill on July 16, 2012 at 1:30 AM

As I thought… a case of improperly healed butt-hurt. The True-Cons couldn’t hack it, or didn’t have the fire in the belly, or didn’t feel the time was right. Get over it.

And as to how they’d be doing in the polls… if you want to be the best, you have to beat the best. My wing of the party came out on the short end also. But I’m just fine with Mitt Romney carrying the standard, because he is doing exactly what I would expect my candidate to do at this point… raise money, marshal resources, organize, and get ready for the convention.

And, perhaps most importantly, ignore the cat-calls from the cheap seats by those who can’t get over finishing behind Ron Paul, much less Mitt Romney.